US response to 9/11 increased the global terror threat — Hollande

French president claims Iraq war created Islamic State group, which in turn led to extremist attacks in Europe

French President Francois Hollande delivering a speech at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris after a priest was killed in the Normandy city of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, July 26, 2016. (AFP Photo/TF1/STR)

PARIS, France — America’s response to the 9/11 attacks augmented rather than defeated the jihadist threat, with the consequences of the Iraq war now being felt in terror-scarred France, President Francois Hollande said Sunday, as the US marked the 15th anniversary of the devastating attacks in New York and Washington, DC.

In a Facebook post commemorating the victims of the attacks, Hollande echoed a famous front-page headline from Le Monde newspaper on the day after the suicide plane strikes.

But the Socialist leader, whose country has been rocked by a string of extremist attacks in the past year-and-a-half, was also fiercely critical of the US riposte.

Family members of fallen officers watch a procession in Lower Manhattan to mark the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and the police officers who were killed during and after the event, on September 9, 2016 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP)

“The response that the American administration gave to these attacks… far from eradicating the threat, expanded it over a wider area. Namely to Iraq,” he wrote.

“And even though France, through [ex-president] Jacques Chirac, rightly refused to join the intervention [in Iraq] which it condemned, it has nonetheless been a victim of the consequences of the chaos it caused.”

Hollande’s remarks were seen as a reference to the rise of the Islamic State group (IS) which was formed out of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

By signing up, you agree to our
terms
You hereby accept The Times of Israel Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and you agree to receive the latest news & offers from The Times of Israel and its partners or ad sponsors.